New Amsterdam & "Defund the Police"

 If you've ever railed against the "Defund the Police" effort, I strongly recommend that you stream the NBC TV show New Amsterdam The Crossover (Season 2 episode 12). If you've never seen the show, that shouldn't be an issue, as the bit I want all'y'all to see occurs sporadically throughout the episode, with it occurring at the 5:13, 13:51, 22:15, and 28:43 marks).

The sequence in question is between a psychiatrist from the hospital is interviewing and then doing a ride-along with a police officer patient of his. What we witness is their initial consultation in his office, and then a pair of incidents where two separate homeless people with psychological issues are causing two disturbances outside public places.

In the first one, the officer essentially forcefully confronts the individual, and then man-handles them to remove them from the public place. In the second the shrink interjects himself into the incident, and manages to deescalate it before it becomes explodes into violence (The officer has drawn her sidearm).

After the second incident, the psychiatrist and the officer are sitting down on a bench and the psychiatrist explains that THIS is what is meant by "Defund" the police, as the officer simply was neither equipped, nor properly trained to handle that type of situation.

"You’re doing your job. You’re doing what your supposed to do. But Officers aren’t equipped to handle a mentality unstable person who isn’t committing a crime. That’s not your job, That’s my job. That’s a social worker’s job."

The entire sequence was not only well-written, but well-performed, and (to me at least) clearly explained what is meant by "Defund". It isn't "eliminate" it is simply putting resources in their proper perspective, and giving proper training to those involved.

Watch New Amsterdam Season 4 Episode 12 Online